Lake Charles Memorial Hospital will host a United Blood Services blood drive on Monday, August 24th from 2pm - 6pm in the parking lot directly across Oak Park Boulevard from the hospital's main campus entrance at 1701 Oak Park Boulevard. All members of the community are encouraged to attend.

United Blood Services is a major non-profit community blood center that provides blood, blood products and other services to more than 15 million people throughout the United States, including over 50 hospitals in 32 Louisiana parishes, since 1953. They have been Memorial's blood provider since November 2008.

"Donations are absolutely vital and will save lives," said Allison Goodson, donor recruitment representative for United Blood Services. "We encourage every eligible member of the community to donate blood three times a year."

Transfusions of donated blood are utilized for a variety of patients following injury or major surgery, or those with chronic conditions such as hemophilia, ulcers, certain cancers and various types of anemia. For these conditions, blood transfusions are a necessity.

The benefits of donating blood are many-and not just for the recipients of donations. Frequent blood donation helps donors stay informed of their cholesterol levels and can also reduce the amount of excess iron in the blood, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

In addition to the reward of saving lives, United Blood Services also offers other incentives for regular blood donors with their "Hero in Us" donor benefits program. Those who donate once a year become bronze members, twice a year become silver members and three times a year become gold members. Donors are awarded points for each donation, and can redeem those points for gifts on the United Blood Services Hero in Us website at www.bloodhero.com.

Following the August 24 blood drive, Memorial will host other United Blood Services drives on the fourth Monday of each month. The next scheduled dates are September 28, October 26 and November 23.

For more information about the upcoming blood drives or about United Blood Services, please call Allison Goodson at (337) 593-7367.